Advocacy center repairs broken spirits of abused children

Thursday

Sep 30, 2010 at 1:16 PM

By PHIL DEVITT

By PHIL DEVITT

Fall River Spirit Editor

Zebras, giraffes and colorful handprints are painted on the basement walls of a downtown Fall River building. Smiling teddy bears and picture books sit on tables next to toys. And there are plenty of tissues.

The Children's Advocacy Center of Bristol County is a warm, homey place, where hundreds of children a year feel comfortable enough to talk about something deeply personal: being sexually abused. Opening up is not always easy, but when it happens, healing begins.

"They are different when they leave," Leslie Knowles, chairperson of the center's board of directors, said of the victims. "They have positive memories of their time here."

The center last week marked its third anniversary — and nearly 1,000 children helped — with a ceremony in its cheery lobby. The success stories should be celebrated, officials said, but the number of children in need of the center's services is alarming.

"Approximately 300 children in this county just disclose that they've been sexually abused each year and many of them have been violated by someone they know," Knowles said, emphasizing that more cases likely go unreported. "Unfortunately, the numbers in Bristol County don't change."

Established in 2007, the CAC provides a variety of support services to children and families from throughout Southeastern Massachusetts, including counseling, medical exams and forensic interviews. According to statistics provided by the agency, 32 percent of cases in the last three years have come from Greater Fall River, which includes the city, Westport, Swansea, Somerset and Freetown.

The center combines into one location important services that previously were fragmented and difficult for families to find.

The focus was more on prosecution, not connecting families to the resources they needed to rebound.

"Children fell through the cracks, a lot of them," said Assistant District Attorney Silvia Rudman. "The CAC allows us to find not just justice legally, but justice for the child. It's much more child-friendly."

The CAC works closely with police departments and the Bristol County District Attorney's Office to prosecute abusers and empower victimized children to speak up.

"Does that matter to me as a prosecutor? Absolutely," Rudman said. "Now, I have a strong survivor who can testify."

In conjunction with Saint Anne's Hospital Youth Trauma Program, the agency is offering to health care providers training in trauma-focused therapy. Outreach and education to the community are ongoing. Jennifer Salem-Russo, coordinator of the trauma program, said she is working with CAC to provide quality mental health services throughout the county.

"We know that the beginning of the healing process is disclosure and protection," she said. "We know how important prosecution can be for the safety and well-being of children and families. Mental health services provide another kind of healing."

Like many non-profits, the CAC is in need of more funding and more space, Loranger said. The center has an operating budget of $168,000, down $73,000 from two years ago. State budget cuts are to blame, the director said.

"Funding is wavering. We know the need isn't going away."

Grants, fund-raising and other private donations are "key to our survival," Loranger said.

"We need to do more than exist in survival mode."

Net proceeds from the fifth annual New Bedford Oktoberfest, being held Oct. 2 from 3 to 11 p.m. at Custom House Square in the city's historic district, will benefit the center. Tickets for the day-long festival, which features brews by 12 regional breweries, live music, fresh seafood and other treats, are $20 in advance and $25 at the door. They are available at Cardoza's Wine and Spirits in Fall River, Dartmouth and Fairhaven.

More information on the CAC is available at www.cacofbc.org.

Phil Devitt can be reached at editor@fallriverspirit.com or (508) 979-4492.